Often bottles, in the manufacturing process, require the removal of particulate matter from their exterior surfaces. The bottles may acquire the material in the form of dust from storage. Much more frequently, the bottles acquire the coating during processing and manufacturing. For example, where the bottles contain a particulate matter, some of their contents, during the filling operation, may become attached to the exterior surfaces.
A slight powdery film on a bottle's exterior may not represent a detriment to its contents. However, a purchaser may not aesthetically appreciate the coating and, thus, decide not to purchase the product. Thus, prior to its purchase, the bottle's exterior must undergo a cleaning. This becomes particularly important when placing the bottles in a carton. A single bottle with exterior particulate matter may cause the remaining bottles to become similarly coated and undesirable.
Various types of processes have attempted to clean bottles of differing superficial contaminants. In particular, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,516,998 to W. D. Kinball et al., 2,573,169 to C. L. Gerlach et al., 4,013,497 to W. D. Wolf, and 4,325,775 to H. Moeller show equipment that will remove labels from the exterior of bottles. These do not show how to remove fine particulate matter which may adhere with a charge of static electricity.
Furthermore, in the first, third, and fourth of the patents mentioned above, a chain or pad makes contact with the bottle's side. Moving faster than the remainder of the conveyor, the chain or pad causes the bottles to rotate about their longitudinal axis. This technique suffices to present the entire circumference of axially symmetric bottles to the delabeling equipment. However, for bottles having a cross-section not forming a circle, and, in particular, rectangular bottles, this equipment lacks the capability of rotating the object 360.degree.. Thus, it will not present the bottle's entire exterior surface to the operational portion of the apparatus.
The patent to Gerlach et al. places bottles in pockets and rests them on bars which reciprocate. The bars, moving along the edge of the bottle, effect their rotation. Again, the question arises as to whether this arrangement has the capability of regularing rotating noncircular bottles.
Accordingly, the search continues for equipment that can remove fine particulate matter from the surface of bottles in an assembly line. In particular, the equipment should have the capability of operating upon bottles lacking axial symmetry.